Device for facilitating construction of electrical apparatus



Apr-1l 9, 1963 o. l. THOMPSON 3,085,177

DEVICE FOR FACILITATING CONSTRUCTION 0F ELECTRICAL APPARATUS Filed July7, 1960 `2?. Sheets-Sheet 1 INVENTOR. Ofen/(e l.' 777027,??5 of:

April 9, 1963 O. l. THOMPSON DEVICE FOR F'ACILITATING CONSTRUCTION OFELECTRICAL APPARATUS Filed July 7, 1960 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 58 9.1% f/ 2]faz 9% 36 [.95 .90 eef V96 Pfg-7 RESILENT INVENTOR. Orff/[6].' ,'aff/.5017

Ilia/1re s 'nit State The present invention relates generally to devicesfor facilitating construction of electrical equipment, and particularlyto devices facilitating construction of electrical Iapparatus forinstruction of students of electronics.

Patent application Serial No. 775,035, -liled November 19, 1958, nowPatent No. 3,043,021, by the present inventor discloses a device forfacilitating construction of electrical circuits in which .a pluralityof parallel bars of insulating material are employed and means areprovided to secure electrical conductors therebetween. The bars arepro-vided with an electrically conducting surface confronting theelectrical conductors of the electrical circuit, and these electricallyconducting surfaces function to interconnect the electrical conductors.This device also requires a means for forcing the bars into engagementwith each other in order to lock the electrical conductors ybetweenadjacent bars.

One cf the difficulties which has been experienced with the device forconstructing electrical circuits disclosed in the above patentapplication is that it is diicult to engage electrical conductors ofvarying diameters. One `solution of this problem requires the bars topossess sulficient resilience in order to yield to the larger conductorsand grip the smaller conductors. It is one of the objects of the presentinvention to provide a device for constructing electrical circuits inassociation with a support base or board in which means are provided tointerconnect a plurality of conductors and in which the electricalconductors can vary substantially in diameter.

Another object of the present invention is to provide a device forconstructing electrical circuits in which means are provided withincavities in a support base or body for engaging and interconnecting theends of electrical conductors, the conductors entering the cavitiesthrough openings in the body. Confining the electrically conductingmeans for engaging and interconnecting the ends of the electricalco-nductors to cavities within the body of the device has the advantageof providing a body surface which is entirely free of electricallyconducting surfaces.

It is a further object of the present invention to provide a device forconstructing electrical circuits in which the ends of a plurality ofelectrical conductors may be interconnected by merely inserting theminto a contact member, thus avoiding any step to lock them into place.This is accomplished in the present invention by means of contactmembers disposed in cavities of an insulating board having confrontingjaws biased together and confronting an opening in the board.

Further, it is an object of the present invention to provide a devicefor constructing electrical circuits of the type described above inwhich an instruction diagram may be viewed through the board. With sucha construction, the diagram may be used to aid in construction of theelectrical circuit in the manner disclosed in the present inventorsPatent No. 2,882,618, entitled Educational Device for TrainingElectronic Technicians.

These and further objects of the present invention will become readilyapparent to those skilled in the art from a further consideration of thepresent disclosure particularly when viewed in the light of thedrawings, in which:

3,685,177 Patented Apr. 9, 1963 FIGURE 1 is a plan view of a board-typedevice for facilitating construction of electrical circuits;

FIGURE 2 is a plan View of a template for use with the board-type deviceof FIGURE 1 show-ing the schematic diagram of an electrical circuit andthe manner of assembling the circuit on the device of FIGURE l;

FIGURE 3 is a sectional View taken along the line 3 3 of FIGURE 1 withthe circuit elements shown in FIGURE 2 fragmentarily illustrated mountedon the board of FIGURE 1;

FIGURE 4 is a sectional View taken along the line 4-4 of FIGURE 3;

FIGURE 5 is an isometric View of one of the contact members employed inthe device shown in FIGURES 1, 3 and 4;

FIGURE 6 is a sectional View of an adapter unit for use with vacuumtubes, condensers, or transistors for the purpose of adapting them foruse with vthe device for constructing electrical circuits of FIGURES 1,3 and 4;

FIGURE 7 is a bottom View of the adapter shown in FIGURE 6; and

FIGURE 8 is a sectional view illustrating a modified construction of adevice for construction of electrical circuits according to the presentinvention.

Referring to FIGURES 1, 3 and 4, the device for constructing electricalcircuits here disclosed utilizes a base member or body in the form of aflat board 10 of electrically insulating material which is provided witha plurality of elongated cavities 12 therein. The board 10 is preferablyof material transparent to light, and a template 14 is removably mountedadjacent to one surface 16 of the board 10. In this manner, anelectrical circuit diagram 18 on the surface of the template 14confronting the board 10, such as illustrated in FIGURE 2 and which willbe described more fully hereinafter, is visible when viewed from thesurface 20 of the board opposite the surface 16.

The cavities 12 are elongated and of equal length, and the cavities 12are aligned in a plurality of rows 22, FIGURE 1 illustrating rows 22A,22B, 22C, 22D, l22E, 22E, 22G, 22H, 221, 221, and 22K. Each of the rows22 has three cavities 12A, 12B, and 12C, and these cavities are spacedfrom each other by common distances. The cavities 12A of all 'of therows 22 are aligned on an axis normal to the axes lof the rows, as arethe cavities 12B and 12C. A plurality of openings 24 extend be tween thesurface 20 of the board 10 and each of the cavities, the openings 24being aligned with the axes of the cavity.

Each of the cavities 12 is provided with a contact member 26 which isillustrated in FIGURES 3, 4 and 5. The contact member 26 is constructedof resilient electrically conducting material, such as copper coatedspring steel, and is fabricated from a tlat sheet of this material. Asbest illustrated in FIGURE 4, each of the contact members 216 has a atbase 28 which is disposed on the surface of the cavity 12 remote fromthe surface 20 of the sheet. A pair of walls 30 and 32 extend from thebase 28 and are spring biased outwardly to engage the parallel sidewalls 34 and 36 of the cavity. The edge of the walls 30 and 32 of thecontact members 26 opposite the base 28 thereof connect with a leafportion 38 which extends toward the center of the cavity and atapproximately the center thereof is bent at right angles to the flatbase and extends toward the base, this section of the leaf portion beingdesignated 40. The leaf portion 33 of the wall 30 and the leaf portion38 of the wall 32 abut each other in the sections 40, and a terminatingsupport portion 42 extends from the end of the leaf portions 3Sconfronting the base 28 to abut the wall 3d or 32 in order to aid inspring biasing the sections 40 toward each other.

The contact members 26 have a longitudinal axis slightly less than theaxes of elongation of the cavities l2, and -are provided with slots 44which extend through the walls 30 and 32 and the por-tions 38, @itl and42 so that the portions which abut each other are essentiallyindependently sprung jaws. The slots '44 are disposed between theopenings 24 confronting each cavity 12 so that each opening immediatelyconfronts the one pair of abutting portions 3S of the contact member 26,or one pair of jaws.

The cavities l2 are conveniently formed in the board 10 by molding orcutting indentations from one surface in a tirst sheet of insulatingmaterial, designated Ve5, and a thin sheet e6 of electrically insulatingmaterial is secured to the sheet in any conventional manner, such ascementing the sheets 45 and 46 together or utilizing screws 48.Preferably, the sheets 45 and 46 are of trans. parent material, such asLucite or other transparent plastic or glass, so that the schematicdiagram 1S is visible through the sur-face 2th of the resulting 4boardld. The schematic diagram may be secured to the assembly of sheets 45and `46' by any removable means such as clips Sil mounted on thetemplate lid and spring biased yagainst the edges of the :sheet 45. Thesheet i6 may be slightly longer than the sheet 45 to provideprotuberances 52 which engage the clips 50.

yFIGURE 2 illustrates the schematic circuit diagram 18 disposed on thetemplate 14 for a photocell excited transistor switching circuit. It isto be understood that this particular circuit is illustrated to show atypical application of the invention, and that the invention may bepracticed with other elect-rical circuits in order to assemble andconstruct virtually any type of electrical device, such as receivers,amplifiers, oscillators, trigger circuits, battery charger-s, powersupplies, and the like. Since the manner of mounting the physicalcomponents shown schematically in FIGURE 2 is clear from thediagrammatic showing, the physical components of this circuit have notbeen illustrated. It is to be noted that the schematic circuit diagramof FIGURE 2 shows the connections which are required to complete thecircuit and, in `dotted lines designated 26, the contact members whichform the interconnecting electrical links.

The circuit uses two transistors 54 and 56 connected in an amplifier anda lgrounded emitter switching circuit, respectively. The collector 5S ofthe transistor 56 is connected to one terminal of the coil of a relay62, the other terminal 64 of this relay coil being connected to thepositive terminal of a power source '66. The relay 62 has a pair ofswitch contacts which are connected to pins 67A and 67B. Pin 67B isconnected to the negative terminal of power source `66, and a lamp` 68is connected between pin 67A and the positive terminal of the powersource 66. 'It is to be noted that at least one electrical connection isprovided by the contact members 26 directly extending between componentsand without additional wiring. The collector 58 of the transistor 56 isconnected in this manner to the terminal 66 of the relay coil.

The transistor 56 also has a base 70 which is connected to the collector72 of transistor y54 by a wire 73 and an emitter 74 which is connectedto the negative terminal of the power source by a second wire 75. Thesewires and the pig tails of components are merely cleaned of insulationand inserted into the contact members 26 through the openings 24.

Transistor 5L!l serves as an amplifier and has a base 76 which isconnected to a photocell 78 through a diode `80. r[he photocell 78` isconnected in series with the emitter 82 of the transistor 54 through aresistor 84 and is `also connected to the negative terminal of the powersource l66 by a wire 86A. A resistor 86 is connected between thenegative terminal of the power source 66 (through wires 86A and 75) andthe base 76 of transist tor 54. A resistor 87 is connected between thecollector 72 and the terminal 6d. of the relay 62.

Each of the transistors 54 and 56 is mounted on an adapter illustratedin FIGURES 6 and 7. Each adapter has a :socket 88 with depending lugs9i) which extend through apertures 92 in a thin board 94 of electricallyinsulating material, such as Bakelite. The socket 88 has grippers 95adapted to accommodate the pins of the transistors 5d and 56 and whichare electrically connected to the lugs 902. In circuits employing vacuumtubes, the `socket S3 is designed to accommodate the pins of a vacuumtube. Also, a coil, relay, or other component of an electrical circuitmay be mounted on the board 94 for adaptation to the constructionaldevice here disclosed.

At least two pins 96 are anchored within the board 9d and extendnormally therefrom. Each of the pins 96 is connected to one of the lugs96 by an electrically conducting strip 93. The pins 96 are disposedadjacent to corners of the board 94 and spaced from each other by adistance equal to the distance between the opening 24 of the conductingmember 26 disposed in a cavity 12A rand an opening 24 disposed in thesame row -for a cavity 12B. The same dimensional relationships existbetween the cavities RZB and fl2C. As a result, one of the pins 96 ofthe adapter is adapted to contact a conducting mem. ber 26 in a cavity12B while the other pin 96' is adapted to contact a conducting member 26in a cavity 12C.

As illustrated in FIGURE 7, the adapter has a third pin 99 located in vathird corner of the board M. The pin 99 is spaced from the pin 96 in theadjacent corner by the same distance that :separates the openings 24 ofadjacent rows of openings. In this manner, the pin 99 engages a contactmember one row removed from the adjacent corner pin 96, and the otherpin 96 engages a contact member in the same row as the rst pin 96 but adiierent con-tact member. Also, the distance between rows of contactmembers is such that two pins 96 cannot be positioned between adjacentrows, but must be positioned in the same row, and also between adjacentcontact members land not the same contact member. Not all of the pins 96and 99 need be utilized in adapting the particular component to theconstructional device, since one or more of the pins may be utilizedsolely for supporting purposes. The pin 99A of the relay 62 is usedsolely for supporting the relay for example.

The particular light responsive switching circuit shown -in FIGURES 1and 2 results in current ilowing through the coil of the relay 62 inresponse to light impinging upon the photocell 78, thus closing therelay contacts. The lamp 68 is connected in series with the contacts orthe relay 62 and the power source 66, and lights as a result of currentllowng through the relay closing the contacts.

FIGURE 3 illustrates the manner in which the pins 96 of the adapter forthe transistor 56 and relay 62 contact the abutting portions ttl of thecontact member 26, and also the manner in which the end of the wire orconductor 73 is secured within the contact member 26, and thus connected.to the pins 96 of the two adapters. It is thus clear that electricalcomponents possessing lugs 9G may be directly mounted to theconstructional device without requiring adapter units, and in the eventthe lugs 96 of the components are `spaced by a distance different yfromthe spacing of the openings 24 in the constructional device, or thediameter of the lugs 95D is excessive, an adapter such as shown inFIGURES 6 and 7 may be employed.

The plurality of openings 24- confronting each cavity l2 may be replacedby a single elongated slot parallel to the axis of the cavity, asindicated for cavity 12C, row 22H in FIGURE 3, the slot being designated24A. When the slot 24A is employed, it is preferable to omit the slotsd4 in the contact members and utilize continuous abutting jaws, asindicated at @A in FIGURE 3. t

The contact member 26 provides a spring bias between the 'plurality ofportions or jaws iti which engage the pins and wire ends to provideelectrical contact and to anchor these elements to the board. The springbias may be replaced by resilient material for forcing a pair ofconfronting electrically conducting strips toward each other to achievethese ends. FIGURE 8 is a sectional view parallel to the plane of thesurface of a modied board constructional device in which resilient orcompliant material is utilized for this purpose. Within the cavity `12,which is identical to the cavities shown in the first embodiment of thepresent invention and bears the same reference numeral therefor, a pairof elongated strips 100 and 102 are disposed in confrontingrelationship. The strips 100 and 102 are disposed with theirlongitudinal axes parallel to the axes of the cavity, and a mass ofresilient material 104 is disposed between the strips 100 and 102 andthe walls 34 and 36 of the cavity. The strips 100l and 102 are providedwith semicircular bent portions 106 which are equal in number to theapertures confronting each cavity and disposed in alignment with theapertures, and the curved portions 106 of each strip confront the curvedportions in the other strip of that pair to form relatively smallopenings 108. Upon insertion of a pin or wire end into an opening 108,the strips 100 and 102 are forced apart, the compliant material 104maintaining pressure on the strips to grip the pin or wire end. Inpractice, it has been found that rubber or resilient plastics such aspolyvinyl chloride are particularly suitable for the compliant mass 104.

It is apparent that an unskilled technician is capable of constructingelectrical devices of considerable complexity by use of the constructiondevice here disclosed since the circuit diagram of the template assuresproper circuit connections. It is also apparent that electrical devicesof an experimental or temporary nature can be very readily and morerapidly constructed with the construction device here disclosed than inthe manners known prior to the present invention. Further, permanentequipment can be constructed with a construction device of the type heredisclosed by providing permanent anchoring means for the contact members26. One type of permanent anchoring means for the contact members 26constitutes an electrically conducting cement which may ll the cavities12 or simply be disposed within the openings 108 of the curved portionsof the strips 100 and 102, this cement being shown at 1101 in FIGURE 8.After construction, the electrically conducting cement hardens andpermanently secures the pins and wire ends in '.position.

Those skilled in the art will readily devise many further and additionaldevices utilizing the present invention and many modifications employingthe present invention. It is, therefore, intended that the presentinvention be not limited by the foregoing disclosure, but rather only bythe appended claims.

The invention claimed is:

l. A device for interconnecting electrical components comprising a bodyof electrically insulating material having a face surface and aplurality of elongated cavities within the body adjacent to the facesurface, the longitudinal axes of said cavities being disposed parallelto the face surface of the body in a plurality of parallel rows, aplurality of cavities being disposed in each row, an elongatedelectrically conducting contact member dis- `posed in each cavity withits longitudinal axis parallel to the longitudinal axis of the cavity,said contact member being provided with at least one pair of confrontingjaws disposed adjacent to the face surface, the jaws of said pair beingdisposed on opposite sides of and parallel to the longitudinal axis ofthe contact member, and spring bias means for forcing the pair of jawsinto abutment, said body having an opening extending between each cavityand the face surface of the body confronting each of the jaws, wherebyan electrical component having a plurality of pin-shaped terminalmembers may be mounted on the body by disposing each terminal memberbetween a pair of jaws of a different contact member and electricalconnection may be achieved between the terminal members of saidelectrical component and other electrical components by disposing thepin-shaped terminal members of the other electrical components in thesame contact member engaging the terminal member of said electricalcomponent.

2. A device for interconnecting electrical components comprising theelements of claim l, wherein the contact member is provided with aplurality of jaws extending from the base toward the face surface inconfronting pairs, each pair of said jaws being adapted to engage apin-shaped terminal member.

I3. A device for interconnecting electrical components comp-rising theelements of claim 2 wherein the pairs of jaws of each clip member aredisposed on a straight line and a single opening extends between theface surface of the body and each pair of jaws.

4. A device for interconnecting straight wire-shaped terminal members ofelectrical components comprising the elements of claim 1 wherein theflat sheet is constructed of transparent material in combination with atem'plate removably secured to the surface of the sheet opposite theface surface, said template having a schematic circuit diagram thereonconfronting the face surface of the sheet.

5. A device for interconnecting straight wire-shaped terminal members ofelectrical components comprising the elements of claim l in combinationwith an adapter for a component having a plurality of parallel lugsincluding a flat board having a plurality of straight wireshapedelectrically conducting pins spaced from each other to enter openings ofdifferent cavities, a socket mounted on said board having anelectrically conducting gripper adapted to engage each lug of thecomponent and having an electrically conducting strip electricallyinterconnecting each lug and one of the pins.

6. A device for electrically interconnecting wire-shaped terminalmembers comprising, in combination, a flat sheet of electricallyinsulated material having a Aface surface and a plurality of elongatedcavities disposed therein adjacent to the face surface, said cavitiesbeing disposed with their axes of elongation in a plurality of parallelrows with the axes of elongation of each cavity on the axis of a row,each row having a plurality of cavities therein, and the cavities ineach row being spaced from each other, said sheet having a plurality ofspaced openings between the face surface and each cavity, the openingsconfronting a given cavity being dis'posed on an axis parallel to theaxis of elongation of the cavity, a contact member disposed in eachcavity having an elongated electrically conducting ba-se with its axisof elongation disposed parallel to the axis of elongation of the cavity,said contact member having a plurality of pairs of electricallyconducting jaws extending from the base, the jaws of each pair beingdisposed on opposite sides of the axis of elongation of the contactmember and confronting one of the openings in the face surface, wherebya wire-shaped terminal member may be inserted into a given cavitythrough one of the openings and electrically interconnected with otherwire-shaped terminal members inserted into said cavity through otheropenings.

7. A device for electrically interconnecting wire-shaped terminalmembers comprising the elements of claim 6 in combination with anadapter havin a flat board, a plurality of parallel straightelectrically conducting pins mounted on said board and extendingnormally therefrom, the pins mating with openings of different cavities,and an electrical component mounted on said adapter board and having aplurality of electrically conducting terminal lugs, each of saidterminal lugs being electrically connected to one of the pins of saidboard.

8. A device for electrically interconnecting wire-shaped terminalmembers comprising the elements of claim 6 wherein the distance betweenthe Iaxes of the rows of cavities is greater than the distance betweenthe openings in the face surface communicating with a given cavity.

9, An electrical device comprising, in combination, a plurality ofelectrically conducting elongated contact members, each having aplurality of jaws extending from an electrically conducting base inconfronting pairs, the jaws of each pair abutting each other, means formounting the Contact members in a common plane with the axes ofelongation of the contact members disposed in a plurality of parallelrows, each row having a plurality of spaced contact members therein andelectrically insulated from each other, means defining a 'thin sheet ofelectrically insulating material disposed parallel to the plane of theContact members and adjacent to the contact members, said plane havingan 'opening confronting each pair of jaws of each contact member, a'plurality of electrical components disposed at the side of the sheetopposite the contact members, each component having two wire-shapedterminal members extending through different openings in the sheet andbeing engaged by a pair of jaws of two different contact members, aplurality of contact members engaging terminal members of, more than oneelectrical component to connect the components in an electrical circuit.

10. An electrical device, comprising the elements of claim 9 wherein themeans for mounting the contact members in a common plane and the meansdefining a thin sheet of electrically insulating material areconstructed of transparent material, in combination with means formounting a template on the means for mounting the contact membersgenerally parallel to the flat sheet, whereby a template havinginstructional material may be mounted on the assembly.

1l. An electrical device comprising the elements of claim 9 wherein eachcontact member is provided with a plurality of jaws extending from abase toward the ilat sheet in confronting pairs, each pair of said jawsbeing adapted to engage a wire-shaped terminal member, and the flatsheet being provided with a separate opening confronting each pair ofjaws of each contact member, the openings looesly engaging thewire-shaped terminal members of the electrical components.

References Cited in the tile of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS1,841,736 Jones Ian. 19, 1932 2,229,377 Friang Jan. 21, 1941 2,390,706Iearon Dec. 11, 1945 2,568,535 Ballard Sept. 18, 1951 2,665,415 KojisJan. 5, 1954 2,704,838 Macha et al Mar. 22, 1955 2,765,452 Tuchel Oct.2, 1956 2,885,602 Emerson et al May 5, 1959 2,922,135 Hoberg et al Jan.19, 1960 2,965,812 Bedford Dec. 20, 1960 2,983,892 Williams et al May 9,1961 FOREIGN PATENTS 123,170 Great Britain Feb. 17, 1919

1. A DEVICE FOR INTERCONNECTING ELECTRICAL COMPONENTS COMPRISING A BODYOF ELECTRICALLY INSULATING MATERIAL HAVING A FACE SURFACE AND APLURALITY OF ELONGATED CAVITIES WITHIN THE BODY ADJACENT TO THE FACESURFACE, THE LONGITUDINAL AXES OF SAID CAVITIES BEING DISPOSED PARALLELTO THE FACE SURFACE OF THE BODY IN A PLURALITY OF PARALLEL ROWS, APLURALITY OF CAVITIES BEING DISPOSED IN EACH ROW, AN ELONGATEDELECTRICALLY CONDUCTING CONTACT MEMBER DISPOSED IN EACH CAVITY WITH ITSLONGITUDINAL AXIS PARALLEL TO THE LONGITUDINAL AXIS OF THE CAVITY, SAIDCONTACT MEMBER BEING PROVIDED WITH AT LEAST ONE PAIR OF CONFRONTING JAWSDISPOSED ADJACENT TO THE FACE SURFACE, THE JAWS OF SAID PAIR BEINGDISPOSED ON OPPOSITE SIDES OF AND PARALLEL TO THE LONGITUDINAL AXIS OFTHE CONTACT MEMBER, AND SPRING BIAS MEANS FOR FORCING THE PAIR OF JAWSINTO ABUTMENT, SAID BODY HAVING AN OPENING EXTENDING BETWEEN EACH CAVITYAND THE FACE SURFACE OF THE BODY CONFRONTING EACH OF THE JAWS, WHEREBYAN ELECTRICAL COMPONENT HAVING A PLURALITY OF PIN-SHAPED TERMINALMEMBERS MAY BE MOUNTED ON THE BODY BY DISPOSING EACH TERMINAL MEMBERBETWEEN A PAIR OF JAWS OF A DIFFERENT CONTACT MEMBER AND ELECTRICALCONNECTION MAY BE ACHIEVED BETWEEN THE TERMINAL MEMBERS OF SAIDELECTRICAL COMPONENT AND OTHER ELECTRICAL COMPONENTS BY DISPOSING THEPIN-SHAPED TERMINAL MEMBERS OF THE OTHER ELECTRICAL COMPONENTS IN THESAME CONTACT MEMBER ENGAGING THE TERMINAL MEMBER OF SAID ELECTRICALCOMPONENT.